Alwyn and Katina
by Rorimac Underhill
Summary: Wondered where music came from? The ancient Greeks did too, so they made this story to explain it. A tale of music, love, and tragedy that I wrote for my English class. Please R&R!


Hey everybody! This is a story I wrote for English class, and got a 97 on! So I'm really proud of it and thought that I should post it here on this site. Please read and review!

**Alwyn and Katina**

Alwyn was the son of a well-known craftsman in Delphi. He was tall, muscular, and dark-haired and every maiden in the city wanted to be his wife, but Alwyn was in love with the wild Katina.

Katina however was not in love with him. She did not care and had no desire for men, least of all Alwyn because he was very persistent and at most times annoying. Sometimes Katina would be very rude to him pointedly and made him embarrassed in public, but that did not stop Alwyn from being enchanted by her. Katina had raven black hair that fell far past her shoulders, brilliant blue eyes, and a happy trilling voice that lightened Alwyn's heart every time he heard it. Alwyn would look for Katina everywhere; in the marketplace or on the road, but Katina always ignored him. Katina had a heart of stone and did not love anything except what she was not allowed.

You see, at this time on Earth, only the gods were allowed the pleasure of music, but Katina would disobey and once a month she would journey to the shining castle of Apollo and crouched under the window she would listen to him play and sing on his lyre. Although Katina never told anyone where she went, Alwyn, very persistent, followed her one day.

That morning, to Katina's disappointment, Apollo was not at his palace and therefore she would have to wait till the next month to hear the music. Sadly, Katina turned back to go home, but not before she saw the lyre on the sun god's windowsill. Curiosity overtook her and she picked up the instrument, but before she could pluck it, it slipped from her hands and shattered into a million pieces. Apollo, the god who sees everything, rushed to the palace and with a flash of light, rumbled, "Cursed be you, Katina of Delphi! Never again shall you see your home again for you will be taken away to the most secret place on Earth!" And with another flash of light Katina disappeared.

Alwyn, who had watched the whole scene, burst out of his hiding place and begged, "My lord Apollo, please, I implore you! Do not destine Katina to this fate!"

"It is too late," stated Apollo, "The deed is done and she must be punished."

"But my lord, I love her!"

At this, the goddess of love, Aphrodite felt compassion towards Alwyn and moved Apollo's heart. Apollo said to Alwyn, "Very well, Katina will not always stay like this, but you must perform three very difficult tasks to regain her." Apollo described the tasks that Alwyn needed to complete. First, Alwyn needed to find the most exotic tortoise shell, the most beautiful hide of a leopard, and the antlers of the largest antelope. With these materials and the specific instructions that Apollo gave him, Alwyn would have to craft a new lyre.

Alwyn's heart quivered as he left the palace and went home. These tasks would be challenging to complete, not to mention that he could lose his life during any one of them. He was about to turn aside, but Aphrodite intervened again and strengthened Alwyn so that the next day when he awoke, he was ready to face any situation that might occur.

The shell of the tortoise was difficult to track and to be able to do this, Alwyn became a sailor and worked for hours by mopping decks and moving crates of goods on a merchant ship. While he worked, he kept an eye out for the tortoise. One day, with a well-aimed spear, Alwyn finally got his catch and put the shell in a wooden chest.

Alwyn soon left his job as a sailor and turned to plains and the deep forests of Greece to obtain the skin of a leopard and the antlers of the antelope. One day as he was hunting, a leopard leapt on his back and attacked him. He struggled for a while and then was able to kill the leopard with his knife. Badly scratched and exhausted, Alwyn put the hide in the chest with the shell. Now all that was left to do was to get was the antlers.

The day came quickly when Alwyn got the final material for the lyre. He cornered the antelope in a cave and shot an arrow. True to its mark, the antelope died from the arrow and Alwyn took the horns and the wooden chest and went home to his father's shop.

There in his father's shop Alwyn worked late into the night to craft the lyre. Tired though he was, he did not mind this because the next day he would rescue Katina and that filled him with hope.

Apollo was pleased the next morning when Alwyn presented him with the lyre, "Well done, Alwyn of Delphi," the powerful god said as he took the instrument from Alwyn's hands, "For this, you will have your reward." Before Alwyn could even blink, he was standing in the middle of a lonely island in front of a high tower.

Alwyn's heart gave a leap. In a few minutes he would rescue Katina! Even though it was still her choice to love him back, Alwyn tried not to think about that. He was so happy!

But a terrible thing happened next. Before Alwyn could open the gate of the tower, a monster appeared from nowhere and attacked him. Alwyn tried to fight it off, but was gorged and mortally wounded. The monster left, for some reason or another and so Alwyn lay alone on the rocky ground in a pool of his own blood. He was still breathing, but barely. Though he knew that he himself would die soon, he felt a sense of accomplishment that he had at least freed Katina from her imprisonment.

Katina, who had watched the scene from her tower rushed down to Alwyn. She knelt down on the ground and put his head in her lap. It was then as Alwyn lay dying that Katina's heart melted and she realized that she loved him.

Zeus, who had been watching this sad scene, took pity on the pair and before Alwyn died he turned Katina and Alwyn into birds, and not just any birds, but the first songbirds the world had known. It was not long before Alwyn and Katina took to the air and together flew to Delphi.

Alwyn and Katina nested in the woods near their old home and, with their knowledge, they taught the other birds to sing. Soon, the whole world was singing in honor of Alwyn and Katina.

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